Chapter 15: Allies Across the Sea
The little fox girl’s hand reached out before her master’s, pulling back the carriage curtain. Ling Ling served Lena as she entered the magic carriage for their return trip, opening the sunroof for ventilation and making all the necessary preparations.
Today’s turmoil would subside.
The students in the academy needed time to digest the shocking news, while Lena, like a strategist, retreated behind the lines, observing the developments…
“Did you give her the scroll?”
“Yes!”
Her large tail wagged excitedly.
The little fox girl anticipated the coming praise.
She had become greedy without realizing it.
How strange.
In just one day, her relationship with Lena had skyrocketed like a rocket. Was this really normal?
“Good girl, Ling Ling.”
Lena rewarded Ling Ling as promised, showing no resistance, though she seemed somewhat melancholic.
“Hee hee…” Ling Ling lowered her ears shyly, twitching the snowflake-like fur on the tips, asking as if to confirm something, “Did Ling Ling help Miss this time?”
“Yes, you did.”
Lena lifted the little fox girl onto her lap, showing a tenderness towards Ling Ling that she hadn’t shown Angel.
“That older sister was crying very sadly at first, and after seeing Miss’s scroll, she seemed even more upset…” Ling Ling said empathetically.
Perhaps due to their similar age, Ling Ling understood Angel’s sadness very well, just like how she feared being abandoned by Miss. Angel’s helplessness in the face of a life fading away resonated deeply within her.
Lena’s glasses glinted, and she scoffed, “She deserves it.”
“Hmm…”
The foxkin’s sensitivity was evident. Ling Ling almost instantly sensed the shift in Lena’s emotions and wisely dropped the sensitive topic.
Something must have happened between Miss and Miss Angel.
Ling Ling secretly guessed.
Did they have a falling out?
She looked up.
The thick, round-rimmed glasses didn’t hide Miss’s beautiful face at all, but instead, accentuated her intellectual charm. The braids draped across her chest, along with her ample bosom…
She really wanted to bury her face there and act spoiled!
Ling Ling’s cheeks flushed, and she quickly shook her head, discarding the unrealistic thought.
After all, she was already very happy now.
Being able to act spoiled in Miss’s arms was as unrealistic as a daydream…
So, this was good enough.
Ling Ling looked at Lena, stood up, poured a cup of hot tea, and walked over with small steps. “Is Miss thirsty? Ling Ling learned a lot of serving techniques from Sister Jane. Tonight… um… can Ling Ling come to Miss’s room tonight?”
Her long eyelashes fluttered like feathers, the little fox girl looking shy as she stretched out her tail, trying to appear “strong.”
She was imitating the way her father courted her mother in her memories, a subconscious gesture. Even she didn’t know why she was acting this way, but it was because she liked Lena so, so much that she wanted to be closer…
“Is it okay, Miss?”
Her pitiful eyes held a hint of pleading and anticipation.
Who could refuse the embrace of a cute, young fox girl?
“I’m afraid not tonight.”
Lena calmly sipped her tea, regretfully announcing the failure of Ling Ling’s attempt.
“Okay…”
The little fox girl slumped, sitting silently in the corner of the carriage.
Her hard-earned confidence had shattered. She needed to hug her tail and recover for a while.
She wondered if there was enough fur left to pull…
“I’ve found a music teacher for you. She’ll arrive tonight. From now on, you’ll study with her and work hard to advance. No slacking off. I’ll check on your progress regularly every week, understand?”
“A teacher?”
Hearing this word with its special meaning, Ling Ling’s tail wagged excitedly. “Ling Ling can go to school?”
In this world, slaves weren’t entitled to a proper education, but it was different with their master’s permission.
Some nobles even allowed slaves to dine with them, but that was extremely rare.
Most, like the “Lena” of the past, were indifferent and cruel, treating slaves like livestock, using them to vent their desires and frustrations, playing with their bodies and tormenting their souls.
They didn’t care if a slave died; they could just buy another one…
Lena crossed her stocking-clad legs, looking down at Ling Ling. “She’s about your age, a junior of mine. I think you’ll have a lot in common.”
She added a bit of manipulation at the end.
“Study hard and make progress every day. Don’t waste my money. Work hard to advance and create value for the Falmouth family.”
“Thank you, Miss.”
The little fox girl jumped for joy.
She expressed her happiness in the foxkin way, her tail wagging, scratching her nose. Her innocent, fledgling-like face evoked a strong protective instinct. She bent down and kissed Lena’s shoe, her tail, which had been actively brushing against Lena’s cheek, now lying quietly on the floor.
The little fox girl seemed to have found her purpose in life.
Find her mother, return to her hometown, and then live with Miss…
“What are you thanking me for? I’m exploiting every bit of value you have.” Lena chuckled, amused.
In her previous era, such behavior would be condemned.
“Miss must be a good person,” Ling Ling said with certainty.
“I whipped you just a few days ago, humiliated you. Now that I’m being nice to you, you say I’m a good person. Don’t you find that ironic?”
Lena pouted. Being nice to you means being a good person? No wonder she was tricked by slave traders and brought to the empire.
The little thing was so naive…
“The Miss who hit Ling Ling was clearly different from the Miss now!” Ling Ling always stamped her feet when she was anxious, a sign of her eagerness to explain.
Lena’s interest was piqued. “How is she different?”
“…”
She couldn’t explain it.
Her vocabulary was limited, her education level equivalent to elementary school, and she was illiterate.
It seemed that learning to read would be a daunting task for Ling Ling in the future, a long and arduous journey.
“How are things on the other side of the sea?”
Lena asked casually, referring to the Falmouth family’s magic warship fleet stationed in the waters west of the Iseniri Continent. She estimated that by the time they returned during the civil war, the Falmouth family would already be in name only, leaving behind only desolate ruins.
So, contacting them early was essential.
Whether they would return or not was another matter.
After all, that was the foundation of the Falmouth family’s power in the empire, one of the military forces most feared by the imperial royalty, including the Empress herself.
It could be said that the current First Empire was entirely built upon the achievements of those hundreds of magic warships, including the very land beneath their feet.
Although Lena considered these to be nothing more than empty praise from outsiders, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of excitement.
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